When dealing with people there will always be things where we do not agree. Even the best of friends do not agree on every single thing. God created us all with His personal touch. We are all masterpieces created by God Himself and He has given us all a unique flair that sets us apart.
As we go through life there are various temptations that come to us all. Some temptations are obvious things that should be avoided but there are other temptations that creep in little by little. Without knowing it pride, resentment, lust, jealousy and many other emotions become a downfall. God does not approve of these type emotions and most people are not even aware it’s a problem.
God loves us enough to bring these things to our attention so that we can repent and get them out of our lives. God is famous for using people to alert us we are headed for a disaster if we do not deal with things.
There are times when a best friend, parent, sibling or teacher that we have always liked suddenly gets on our nerves. We do not want to be around them and avoid them at all costs. They have no clue why we give them the cold shoulder and we don’t mean to hurt them but somehow we can’t stand the sight of them. Resentment of their very presence is all we think about. Where can we go to get away from that person? This is a very popular way God has of bringing to our attention we have a pride problem or resentment problem. It’s not them, it’s us. They haven’t done anything but what we are experiencing is the spiritual mirror. Something they said, did or tried to point out hit like a flaming sword. The flaming sword is the truth that we are not quite ready to face.
We find all kinds of fault with these people we can no longer stand. We accuse them of being judgmental and impossible to please. We pray to God to change them. We call friends to complain about them. We get busy with people, places and things in order to not have time to face them. It’s all because we can’t stand the sight of what God is pointing out to us in His spiritual mirror. It’s not them, it’s us.
The greatest peace and comfort comes when we no longer have to run from these people after realizing we are actually running from our own selves and God. God loves us. He is breaking down barriers that come between us and Him. Let Him. A simple prayer asking God what He would have us to learn about ourselves will start the path to healing. His answers are not popular because it usually means giving up a bad habit, attitude or most of all pride. He could be trying to say we are on a career path that could end in ruin or a relationship with a person who is not what he/she claims to be. Pride is an awful thing where we are right about everything even when things are so wrong. Surrendering everything to God even though it means giving up something that seems fun will result in rewards far greater than anything we give up. We will once again be free to be with the people that tried to help us because the barrier of pride is gone. There will be a greater appreciation and respect for God and the ones He placed in our paths as mirrors because of their courage to be honest. Surrendering all things to God is worth it, all of it.
Luke 6:42
How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
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